Brazen snoop goes to Digital Extremes for game scoop

That was a parting shot from a snoop who slipped into a London digital gaming company, hung out there for the day, ate a free lunch — then spilled details online about a new game the firm is developing.

The security breach last week at Digital Extremes, the city’s largest gaming company, underlines the perils of the open workplace that sets tech companies apart from many businesses, one observer said.

“This case illustrates the risk for any technology company of having an open environment and how vulnerable they can be to corporate espionage,” independent technology analyst Carmi Levy said. “There is a risk, when a stranger walks into an office, of losing trade secrets . . . They have to prevent that.”

Digital Extremes, while saying “trespassing is never OK,” responded with a lighthearted online post.

“Well, Canadians are known for being welcoming and polite! We employ over 200 passionate gamers committed to delivering kickass games like Warframe and Sword Coast Legends and while we’re flattered someone would want to spend the day with all of us, please respect our privacy and know that, like any business would, we completely discourage any and all unlawful attempts to enter.”

Someone by the name Undercover Legend posted on the popular website Reddit how they coat-tailed into the downtown London business.

The intruder followed a worker in, and found out the studio is developing a new game, Keystone.

“The doors are all opened by fingerprints, pretty cool haha. But I just followed some tattooed dude into the door after he unlocked it. He didn’t even ask me any questions,” the intruder posted.

“I had my Doctor Who shirt on and I tried my best to blend in.”

Digital Extremes, which could not be reached for comment, in its online post said, “Let’s be respectful and law-abiding.”

You can be sure the company takes the issue seriously, Levy said.

“You can be certain memos are flying right now. They may be looking at new locks, sensors, alarms and systems. But you can never reach 100 per cent security,” he said.

The gaming business also has to guard against becoming too strict a security environment, something workers will chafe at, said Michael Katchabew, a computer science professor at Western University.

“They want to maintain a warm, inviting friendly environment for employees, but people will always try take advantage,” he said. “It is not an easy balance to strike.”

The post was removed from Reddit but picked up and reposted last Friday by another website, kotaku.com.

“No one asked me if I worked there. I just sat in the chairs and moved around every now and then. At 12:01 pm the lunch lady says that food is ready . . . and enjoyed my free lunch and started talking to some people,” the post said.

“They told me they were working on a new game called Keystone. They said it was a FPS with cards (like magic the gathering style perhaps) but didn’t explain that much about it.

“There were no security guards and no one asked me who I was. They just assumed I belonged there and told me about their secret game. At 6 p.m. people started leaving, so I just followed them out and the one guy said “See you tomorrow,” so I agreed.”

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